Session Co-chair at the 2005 AGU Meeting

2 minute read

Kelly is a co-convenor for two sessions at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, CA.

Both sessions are in the Biogeosciences section, and both are cross-listed in the Hydrology section (one is also cross-listed with Public Affairs).

B14 – Temporal and Spatial Variability in Coupled Ecological-Hydrological Processes

Convened with Salvatore Manfreda, of Princeton University and Paul Rich of Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Session Abstract:

The mechanisms by which the spatial and temporal patterns of hydrological fluxes arise from the physical linkages between soils, climate, and vegetation are of central importance to surface hydrology. Similarly, the interactive manner by which spatial and temporal patterns of resource availability are manifested within various ecological systems observed in nature is critical to the development of theories regarding the nature of competition and the maintenance of biodiversity. In this regard, the interrelationship between ecological and geophysical determinants of surface water balance is at the forefront of a number of outstanding issues in both hydrological and ecological sciences. For example, the space-time distribution of soil moisture provides a crucial link between hydrological and biological processes through its controlling influence on transpiration, runoff generation, carbon assimilation and nutrient absorption by plants. This session solicits papers that address the coupled ecological-hydrological processes governing surface water balance and vegetation dynamics in landscapes. We seek contributions that explore these issues through any combination of experimentation, observation, and theoretical approaches, ranging from canopy to basin scales. Potential topics of interest include the effect of stochastic rainfall forcing on biogeochemical cycling, the nature of plant community responses to variability in climate, and the co-organization of vegetation patterns and surface hydrological processes.

B17 : Soil-Water-Nutrient Interactions With Savanna Vegetation,

Convened with Paolo D’Odorico and Greg Okin, both in the Environmental Sciences Department at the University of Virginia.

Session Abstract:

Savannas cover about 20% of the global land surface, including about one half of Africa, Australia and South America. Interactions between water and nutrient cycles along, and the effect of natural and anthropogenic disturbances are often invoked to explain the composition and structure of vegetation in these ecosystems. This session solicits a broad spectrum of papers on physical and biotic drivers of savanna ecosystems, including (though not limited to) process-based studies on water and nutrient controls on plant physiology, ecosystem productivity and plant population dynamics; research on disturbance-vegetation interactions, competition for resources, and tree-grass coexistence; studies on water vapor, trace gases, aerosols, and carbon fluxes from and into these ecosystems. This variety of studies will contribute to the emergence of an integrated understanding of commonalities and differences existing in the functioning of savanna ecosystems around the world.